Discectomy

[Rochester2013]

I will be having a Discectomy on my L4/5 disc in about a week and a half. The doc says he has never been asked about tuba playing after this surgery (imagine that). He says that he would suggest a week break, however.

Has anyone had this surgery and have any other recommendations/advice?

Thanks!

[rodney]

I know that we all heal differently but I needed much longer than a week to feel comfortable sitting and holding a tuba after having the same surgery you are talking about. I was out of playing for a couple of months.
Take it easy, you only heal once.

[Rochester2013]

I no NOTHING about this surgery nor it's implications.

Does your doctor understand the implications of playing a tuba (ie. carrying a tuba)?

He did tell me that I will not be allowed to use my gig bag to carry my tuba until school starts up again, at the earliest. That is if I ever want to carry it on my back on a regular basis again.

However when I asked him about actually playing it he wasn't really sure what to say (why I came on here hoping some other people had an experience with this surgery and playing). He said that I can resume most normal activities (including driving) a week after the surgery, so probably the tuba as well.

[Brucom]

I had this operation, or one like it, in December 2000.
Recovery was slow and gradual.
After one year I was 99% back to normal.
These days, I don't even think about it.

Good luck.

[Rochester2013]

I had this operation, or one like it, in December 2000.
Recovery was slow and gradual.
After one year I was 99% back to normal.
These days, I don't even think about it.

Good luck.

Thanks! I am surprised at these recovery times. My doctor painted a much different picture in my mind! Did you (and Rodney) have a microdiscectomy or a regular one?

[rodney]

I had the microdiscectomy on L4/5 after months of terrible pain. I agree with Brucom that I was back to normal about a year after surgery. I took three months off from playing and was very careful about lugginy my horn around for quite a while after that. I could not sit for extended periods, 45 minutes or longer, without pain for the full year. Again, as my mom always reminds me, you only heal once, take it easy.
Good luck

[Rochester2013]

I had the microdiscectomy on L4/5 after months of terrible pain. I agree with Brucom that I was back to normal about a year after surgery. I took three months off from playing and was very careful about lugginy my horn around for quite a while after that. I could not sit for extended periods, 45 minutes or longer, without pain for the full year. Again, as my mom always reminds me, you only heal once, take it easy.
Good luck

Oh, so we had the same exact surgery! Thanks for the heads up, I wasn't prepared for such a long healing process, but I am glad that you were able to warn me! You are right that you only heal once, and I don't want to do it the wrong way! I have a short gig (only about 30 minutes of playing, little bit more of sitting and waiting around) at the end of August, so I hope I am ready for that! I am rather young (20, but not sure how old you are/were), so maybe I will heal fast(er)?

[Brucom]

I had this operation, or one like it, in December 2000.
Recovery was slow and gradual.
After one year I was 99% back to normal.
These days, I don't even think about it.

Good luck.

Thanks! I am surprised at these recovery times. My doctor painted a much different picture in my mind! Did you (and Rodney) have a microdiscectomy or a regular one?

Yes, my surgery was micro discectomy, but I don't remember which disc.
Good luck.

[Rochester2013]

Thank you for your great advice! I had the surgery several days ago, and I feel like crap. I think the week break was a little unrealistic of my doctor. No way I will feel comfortable enough in a few days to hold a tuba.

Thanks again!

[rodney]

How are you getting along a few months after surgery Rochester?

[Rochester2013]

How are you getting along a few months after surgery Rochester?

Thanks for asking! About a week or two after my surgery I was feeling great! The pain relief was amazing. About three weeks after said surgery I started playing tuba again (lightly), with a gig a couple of weeks later. Like you (and other people said) it is quite uncomfortable/painful to sit in one place for more than 45ish minutes (which makes it hard to get through classes).

Last week I had a rehearsal that lasted 3 hours, and I made the foolish mistake of sitting through it for almost all three hours. I was in so much pain that I went to the doctor, and he worried that another one of my discs might have just 'given out' because of that, but as the pain is going away it feels a bit more like a severe muscle strain.

Anyway, the results are very positive, I can only practice a half an hour at a time (which is inconvenient, but I make it work), but it is much better than pain!